Syria |
Turkey |
Syrian–Turkish relations have long been strained, even though Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria; various geographic and historical links also tie the two neighboring states together.
This friction has been due to disputes including the self annexation of the Hatay Province to Turkey in 1939, water disputes resulting from the Southeastern Anatolia Project, and Syria’s support for the Kurdistan Worker's Party which have been recognised as a terrorist organisation by NATO, EU and many other countries. But relations have improved greatly since October 1998; when PKK leader terorist Abdullah Öcalan was expelled by Syrian authorities.
Syria currently maintains an embassy in Ankara and two consulates–general in Istanbul and Gaziantep. Turkey has an embassy in Damascus and a consulate–general in Aleppo. Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
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In 1938 Republic of Hatay became independent from the French mandate of Syria as the Republic of Hatay and following a referendum, 8 months later in 1939, it decided to join Turkey. This self-annexation was never recognized by Syria, which continues to show the Hatay Province of Turkey as part of Syria's territory on maps.[1]
Water disputes have been a major source of conflict, as Turkey has constructed several dams on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers as part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project to develop the region.[1]
Turkey has condemned Syria for supporting the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations, including the USA, NATO and the EU and has claimed that Syria employed Alois Brunner to train Kurdish militants for attacks against Turkey.[2]
The two countries came to the brink of war when Turkey threatened military action if Syria continued to shelter Abdullah Öcalan in Damascus, his long-time safe haven. Relations have improved since October 1998, when Öcalan was expelled by Damascus and Syria pledged to stop harbouring the PKK terorists and the 1999 signing of the Adana agreement, following his subsequent capture in Kenya, envisaged security cooperation between the two countries.[3]
In The New Turkey (Granta Books, 2005) BBC correspondent Chris Morris claims that Syria was “for years a bitter foe”[4] as “Turkey’s secular democracy, its application for EU membership and its close relationship with the United States have long been regarded in Tehran, Baghdad and Damascus with intense suspicion. Islamists look at the secular state which buried the caliphate and think ‘betrayal’; and Arab nationalists still haven’t forgotten that Turks are their former colonial rulers.” “But there’s been a thaw, especially since the AKP came to power,” and “the new Turkish model – trying to mix greater democracy and Islam together – is now the subject of curiosity and not a little envy.”[1]
The Turkish Parliament’s refusal to cooperate militarily with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq was a turning point in Syrian-Turkish bilateral relations as Syria’s perceptions of Turkey as incapable of acting independently were altered.
In late 2004 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew to Damascus to sign a free trade agreement[4] in the follow-up to former Turkish President Turgut Özal’s high-level trade negations with Syrian authorities, which included the first ever visit to Turkey by a Syrian President, in the 1990’s[1] and Erdoğan’s own recently successful bid to initiate a Turkish EU accession which would allow Europe, “to extend its reach to the borders Syria, Iraq and Iran.”[5]
In 2008 Turkey was, as a sign of mutual trust in Damascus and Tel Aviv, invited to play the role of facilitator between Syria and Israel to solve their dispute over control over the Golan Heights, but these talks were abandoned after four rounds, following the deterioration in Turkey-Israel relations after Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan criticised Israel’s conduct of the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict as a "crime against humanity."[6][7][8]
The Syrian-Turkish relationship becomes now very strong and intimate as Syria and Turkey have cancelled entry visas and signed joint declaration of strategic council.
On April 26, 2009 the two states announced an “unprecedented” three-day military manoeuvre involving ground forces along their mutual border in what was described as “a step farther in their ever expanding cooperation.” According to Turkish military sources, “The aim of the exercise is to boost friendship, cooperation, and confidence between the two countries land forces, and to increase the ability of border troops to train and work together.” The exercise which commenced on April 27 involved teams from each country crossing the border to visit outposts.[7]
Visiting Syrian Defense Minister Hassan Turkmani and Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül also signed a letter of intent giving the green light for cooperation in the defence industry, on the sidelines of the 9th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF’09) that commenced in Istanbul the same day, as a sign of the level of political relations reached between the two states, although a Turkish defence industry source emphasised that, “it does not mean that the two countries will immediately enter into cooperation in arms production.”[6][7]
Turkish President Gül’s 15–17 May official visit to Syria was made at the invitation of Damascus in reciprocation of Syrian President Assad’s 2007 official visit to Turkey. A senior Turkish diplomat confirmed that, “The main topic on the agenda and the goal of the visit is the maintenance of momentum that has built up in bilateral relations within the last decade.”[9] The Turkish delegation included Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Agriculture Minister and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay.[10]
Shortly before the visit new Syrian Ambassador to Turkey Nidal Qablan confirmed that Syria was ready to restart the Turkish mediated peace negotiations with Israel[11] and Gül supported the call, following his meeting with Assad, stating that, “We have heard Syria say it is ready to resume the peace talks from the point where they stopped with the previous [Israeli] government. We in Turkey are also ready.”[12] Assad confirmed, “Turkey’s role is important because we have trust in Turkey.”[13] Israeli President Shimon Peres dismissed these calls stating, “The Syrians should be ready to talk. If President al-Assad wants peace, why is he shy? We suggested direct talks many times. He thinks direct talks are a prize for Israel. It’s not a prize. It’s normal.”[14]
The 2011 Syrian uprising which took place in many smaller cities throughout Syria began to impact Turkey when at least 3,000 Syrian refugees fled crackdowns by the Syrian army on towns such as Jisr ash-Shugur[15]. In June, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan described to Anatolian Agency his feeling that "They [Syria] are not acting in a humane manner. This is savagery." Earlier in May, he advised the Syrian government to not initiate another Hama massacre[16]. However, the Turkish government is currently refraining from describing the Syrians who have fled as "refugees" or "asylum-seekers", instead referring to them as guests[17], and Erdogan, while demanding for implementation of promised reforms by the Syrian government, is currently refraining from calling for Bashar al-Assad's departure.He also announced that "We are completely suspending all of these trade relations,all agreements between Turkey and Syria have been suspended."
On 9 August, 2011, BBC and numerous other news sites have reported that Turkey is sending its foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, to Syria to give the regime a "tough" message. Erdogan has said that he is becoming impatient with the "savagery" of Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian regime.[18]
Ahmet Davutoğlu also announced that "We are completely suspending all of these trade relations,all agreements between Turkey and Syria have been suspended."
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